Grameen Unlikely to Sue Telenor
Monday, September 8, 2008 13:16Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh said Friday that it was only a “remote possibility” that his Grameen Telecom would need to take legal action against Norwegian telecom operator Telenor ASA.
The remarks from Mr. Yunus followed his warning late Thursday that Grameen Telecom might file suit against Telenor in a dispute over their co-owned Bangladesh mobile-phone operator Grameenphone.
“This is not an outcome that we think is necessary,” Mr. Yunus said. “It is a possibility, a remote possibility.” Telenor controls Grameenphone, Bangladesh’s biggest mobile operator, with a 62% stake. Grameen Telecom owns the rest.
Mr. Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with his Grameen Bank for lifting millions out of poverty, says a 1996 agreement with Telenor stipulates that control of Grameenphone must eventually be handed over to the poor of Bangladesh, as represented by Grameen Telecom.
